La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Miami Campa Chica Torpedo Review

[ezmoney5150]

La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Miami Campa Chica Torpedo


Size 5 1/2 x 58
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra binder
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican

This cigar was hard to research probably due to how new it is. You would think General Cigar would have updated their webpage to include this cigar. The Artesano is going to be produced in low volume. From what I've read only 250,000 cigars will be produced this year. Which could account for the high price tag. I think I paid around $13 for this stick thanks to Ohio and Cuyahoga County taxes.

Aesthetics

This cigar has a medium brown wrapper that has a slight sheen to it. Not too oily. I've had this cigar resting at 65% RH for about 2 weeks now. The feel is pretty firm. Not a soft spot to be found on this cigar. There are some thick veins on here, but I don't think it will be a problem. There's a beautiful triple cap on here. Ernesto seems to want to keep with the Cuban tradition. The smell of the wrapper is a woody almost a mulch smell to it. The foot has a scent of pure tobacco. The prelight draw seems on the tight side. We'll see how it goes.

I will be drinking water for this cigar review.

First Third

My first impressions when lighting this cigar is what type of leaf is in the filler. I had a hard time getting the foot lit. It seems like there's some ligero in the filler. The first few draws I'm hit with some spices, not really pepper but maybe a peppercorn. I got some coffee flavors also. On the retrohale I'm getting a tea flavor or maybe cloves. The peppercorn flavor is lingering on the finish. So far the flavors are very smooth. No harshness or overpowering flavors. There isn't a dominate flavor. They all seem to be taking an equal part. Definitely medium/full body. The draw is a little tight still, but manageable. The big ring guage on this Artesano puts off alot of smoke. There's so much smoke that there's a haze in my family room. The Ash seems a tad flaky and is darker grey in color. The burn is pretty good, the burn line is pretty even. Surprisingly, the ash held on for almost 1 1/2 inches.

Second Third

This third I seem to be getting a sweet taste. I'm not quite sure what it is just yet. I'm narrowing it to honey. Also I'm gettting some grassy, earthy flavors. The peppercorn is now on the retrohale and the finish. I've lost the clove flavor. The body pretty much stayed the same. Medium/full.

Final Third

The sweet honey flavor has dissapeard and now the peppercorn is full on. Especially on the retrohale. The draw has loosened up a bit. The body never really changed. Nothing overpowering very smooth.

Final Comments

This cigar is a bit pricey because of the low production I would guess. The trade off is that you are getting a quality cigar without burn issues, a firm ash, and complex flavors. I wasn't as impressed with this as I was the La Gloria Reserva Figurado Maduro, but it was almost there.

I would recommend this cigar if you want complexity without the power that usually comes with it. The Artesano also might even bring out some different profiles with some aging.

[smokinj]

Great review as well as the pic's. I feel as if I am in your ashtray! I agree, aging will definately bring out different profiles. Another excellent smoke from LGC.